“If You think that I am able to behold Your cosmic form, O my Lord, O master of all mystic power, then kindly show me that universal self.” (Arjuna, Bhagavad-gita, 11.4)

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मन्यसे यदि तच् छक्यं
मया द्रष्टुम् इति प्रभो
योगेश्वर ततो मे त्वं
दर्शयात्मानम् अव्ययम्

manyase yadi tac chakyaṁ
mayā draṣṭum iti prabho
yogeśvara tato me tvaṁ
darśayātmānam avyayam

FRIEND1: Can we discuss this idea of miracles?

FRIEND2: What sort of miracles? Like those described in ancient books? The things people have witnessed personally in more modern times? Something out of the ordinary?

FRIEND1: I’ll give you a specific example. Someone is worried about something. They are in distress. At the exact time that they are thinking about a particular topic, they receive a phone call. It is from someone they have not heard from in years. This person shares news that alleviates the concern. It is like they were on the same wavelength.

FRIEND2: But that person calling could not have possibly known what the other person was worrying about.

FRIEND1: Exactly! That is why it is a sort of miracle.

FRIEND2: Those things happen all the time, though. People refer to them as coincidences. Serendipity. The stars aligning.

FRIEND1: Right, and so there is the potential for criticism. I might think it is a miracle, but in reality there is a perfectly reasonable explanation.

FRIEND2: The same event, seen through two different lenses.

FRIEND1: One that applies a Divine relevance, and another that applies a mundane relevance.

FRIEND2: And so the supposed miracle is really something that occurs in the ordinary course of affairs. You only think it is a miracle.

FRIEND1: Right, and so I was thinking about how this applies to spiritual life. So many people feel that God is guiding them, directly. They base their assumption on these supposed miracles, on these factors that defy logic and common sense.

FRIEND2: And you see something wrong with that?

FRIEND1: Well, what if there is the alternate, rational explanation? What this person sees as the hand of God is really just some random occurrence. They try to find some higher meaning to ordinary events.

FRIEND2: You are basically skeptical of the whole thing, then.

FRIEND1: I might not be skeptical, but someone else could cast doubt on the whole establishment. They could say that religion is built on this house of cards, on these supposed miracles that are not really that special. If people only opened their eyes, if they applied logic and reasoning, they wouldn’t be so easily fooled. The wise and attuned would then jeopardize the entire proposal. They would expose the scam. Do you see what I mean?

FRIEND2: Not sure I get you entirely. There will always be skeptics. There will always be criticism. Everyone is either doing something or not doing something. You can criticize them for what they do. You can criticize them for what they fail to do.

FRIEND1: The skeptic will say there is no God. There is no higher purpose. There is no greater meaning to seemingly extraordinary events. There is always an explanation that does not include God or religion. Everything is completely random.

FRIEND2: Except that it isn’t. The positioning of the sun is not random. If it were, we could not account for future weather conditions. The seed of the avocado would suddenly sprout cucumbers. You could generate life from mixing chemicals gathered at any random place.

FRIEND1: That is not possible.

FRIEND2: And why is that?

FRIEND1: What do you mean?

FRIEND2: Why can’t you plant the pit of an avocado in the ground and grow an apple tree?

FRIEND1: Because that’s not how it works.

FRIEND2: How what works?

FRIEND1: Umm, science?

FRIEND2: If there is science, it means there is intelligence. If there is intelligence, you do not have randomness. If you know the cause, then you cannot say that the result is a miracle.

FRIEND1: Right, so what are you trying to say?

FRIEND2: The supposed miracles we are referring to are outside of the realm of predictability. Shri Krishna showing the virat-rupa to Arjuna, for instance. That is not part of the scientific literature. The directions these saintly people receive in a dream, giving them coordinates for an ancient deity buried beneath the earth. That experience is not part of the predictable course of events, in science.

FRIEND1: So you are saying those are miracles?

FRIEND2: A miracle means you do not know the cause. I am saying those are instances of direct intervention from a higher plane. God is speaking directly to someone. We might not believe it. We may dismiss the accounts based on our skepticism, but there is no explanation from science. There is no explanation from randomness, either, since the same would then be occurring all the time, for every single person.

FRIEND1: You are saying these unexplainable events are proof of the existence of God?

FRIEND2: Proof of something above the intelligence we already see embedded within every aspect of nature. You find these saintly people living in caves, who can read your mind. Upon seeing you for a few minutes, they can reveal intimate details about your life, that only you would know. They have never met you prior. How are they able to do that?

FRIEND1: I don’t know. Mysticism?

FRIEND2: Some higher consciousness. Real religion is connecting with the highest consciousness of all. You have to apply some faith.

अज्ञश् चाश्रद्दधानश् च
संशयात्मा विनश्यति
नायं लोको ऽस्ति न परो
न सुखं संशयात्मनः

ajñaś cāśraddadhānaś ca
saṁśayātmā vinaśyati
nāyaṁ loko ‘sti na paro
na sukhaṁ saṁśayātmanaḥ

“But ignorant and faithless persons who doubt the revealed scriptures do not attain God consciousness. For the doubting soul there is happiness neither in this world nor in the next.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 4.40)

At the highest level of consciousness, even something as amazing as the virat-rupa is not taken to be extraordinary. The devotees appreciate more that Krishna was there for Arjuna. They marvel at the infinite mercy of Krishna extended to His devotees, in always providing for them.

अनन्याश् चिन्तयन्तो मां
ये जनाः पर्युपासते
तेषां नित्याभियुक्तानां
योग-क्षेमं वहाम्य् अहम्

ananyāś cintayanto māṁ
ye janāḥ paryupāsate
teṣāṁ nityābhiyuktānāṁ
yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham

“But those who worship Me with devotion, meditating on My transcendental form – to them I carry what they lack and preserve what they have.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.22)

In Closing:

These miracles not real,
Just some fanatic’s appeal.

Or hallucination of the mind,
Alternate explanation can find.

But the virat-rupa just see,
How merciful was He.

Krishna by the devotee’s side,
Lifting to higher plane to reside.

Categories: conversations

Tags: dailyprompt, life, miracles, poem, poems, poetry, religion